MP Stands for Marriage Proposal(s)
by The Lonely Serenade
Summary: Nothing encourages creativity like the chance to propose to your loved one. AU. NaMi. Compilation of one-shots.


**MP Stands for Marriage Proposal(s)**

_Written by The Lonely Serenade_

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**Title: **Childhood Sweetheart

**Author**: The Lonely Serenade

**Pairing:** Natsume H. x Mikan S.

**Theme:** Time Capsule

**Warning(s):** Grammatical errors and slight innuendo at the end of the story. I was playing with Ruka's character a bit, so I hope you guys won't cringe too much.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice.

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He first met her when they were in the fourth grade.

She was the ridiculously short, pigtailed little girl who beamed at him when their teacher partnered them together for a class project. Her hazel eyes—all big and wide and innocent—sparkled when Narumi (he refused to acknowledge him as his sensei, not when the said person was wearing a purple tutu and pink flip-flops that actually made him looked _pretty_) asked them to draw what they wanted to be in the future on a white paper.

He glared at the man chattering in front of the class with annoyance and cursed inwardly, because his mother had pinched his cheeks so hard that they turned red like a tomato when she caught him muttering the _"d" word_ last time.

"Hey, Natsume…"

He turned around when he heard his name being called, and found the brunette girl he was partnered with smiling shyly, her tiny fingers gestured at the blank paper bared on his desk. "What are you going to draw?"

Natsume pondered for a moment and was about to answer before realizing that one of her braided pigtails (that stupid, annoying, evil, strawberry-scented pigtail) got stuck between the window and the sheathing below. In an impulse, he grabbed the scissor from his pencil case and moved forward to the girl sitting beside him with a confused frown on her face.

"Natsume, I don't remember Narumi-sensei saying anything about using scissors—"

_Snip._

Mikan froze in her seat when she saw from the corner of her eyes that some of her hair had fallen to the ground, and she finally got out of her stupor when Natsume wiped the remaining hair wedged on the cutting instrument, analyzing his work—which meant the unwanted hair cut he had just given her, dammit!— with a glint of smugness.

"You know, my cutting is not that bad, but you should go to a proper hair salon and get your hair trimmed—"

"You _stupid jerk_!"

…And Natsume Hyuuga found himself being punched on the face by one, angry (_furious, seething, ready-to-erupt_) Mikan Sakura.

The whole class went into a sudden silence at the scene.

Natsume touched his swollen cheek, all the while wincing, and fixed a glare at the girl who had just mauled him when he supposedly had just helped her with her hair. "What is your problem, stupid girl?"

"_Me_?" She screeched, her voice rose two octaves higher, "How dare _you_! What did you do to my hair, you big, fat _meanie_!"

Natsume tsked and rolled his eyes. "I am _not_ fat and I just cut it, idiot. Are you blind?"

She gritted her teeth and her eyes narrowed into slits at the nonchalant tone the boy had just used on her. _The nerve!_ "I am not blind, and who ask you to cut my hair you…you evil guy! Nobody gets to touch the hair without my permission!"

"What! I was helping you—"

"Forget it." She cut his words sharply; her eyes were brimming with tears. "I hate you, Natsume."

"Hey—"

"I _hate_ you."

It ended up with a bang.

He didn't know what to feel; heck, he did not even know what he had just done, but he was sure it was what his older cousin Tsubasa had always said.

He just screwed up.

Big time.

**.**

**.**

Mikan Sakura was not eager to go to school the following morning—_Mommy, I am diagnosed with lung cancer so I can't go to school!_—but her mother had practically threw her out of her bed and looked at her with big, scary eyes that made her gulped and nodded obediently.

Man. She should have picked a more reasonable reason to reason with her mother. _Huh._

Her father just gave her his usual smile, ruffled her hair, and told her to enjoy her time at school.

_Yeah, right_. Enjoy?

Not without yesterday's occurrence still haunting her conscience.

But when she arrived at the school's gates, she found herself being dragged to the gym by someone—who, _hello_, could be a thief! But she shook the thought out of her head because she was at school and _who would kidnap a person in broad daylight?_

She didn't get a chance to see the person, but the words died in her throat as she finally realized who had just dragged her to the smelly room of the boy's changing room. He was still panting at the aftermath of their running, his uniform disheveled and breaths short, but she saw how his eyes softened slightly when he saw her doing the same.

"I'm…sorry." His voice was low, with a hint of hesitation in it. "I…I didn't know how much you treasure your hair, and I was just trying to help you."

Mikan was silent throughout his apology, but then she finally caught up that he was talking about yesterday and let out a sigh. "I know. Hotaru told me."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silent that occupied the room, and she felt herself getting more and more nervous each passing second, especially with Natsume looking everywhere but her, and what was he doing touching that hair of his—

Wait a second.

Natsume Hyuuga did _not_ have that kind of hair.

Did he…_did he just have a cut_? A _crew_ cut?

"_Oh My God_…"

He seemed to notice her surprise and raised his brows in question. "What?"

Mikan gulped and twiddled her fingers. "You…did you cut your hair because of…because of yesterday?" _Because of me?_

Natsume shrugged and put his hands inside his pocket, his lips curling an arrogant smirk that she knew (—_and secretly adored!_) all too well. "What? It doesn't suit me?"

Without putting much thought in replying, she smiled and chirped, "No, really, I think you still look very handsome even with that hair cut."

"…"

Her eyes widened. "I mean, _no_! You look like a monk! Wait, not exactly…It's not bad…I mean, _argh_. Never mind."

He snorted and turned around, but she didn't fail to see the red flush that colored his ears, even in the darkness they were currently enveloped in.

A bright grin was carved on her face when she took in that particular detail—Natsume Hyuuga, the arrogant jerk who was socially awkward actually _blushed_—and after swallowing that bit of information, she suddenly snatched his right arm, pulling him with an unexpected strength (which she must have gotten from eating all those howalons, he thought in amusement).

"I really, really _like_ you, Natsume!" _Are we okay?_

He was about to retaliate, saying how contradicting her words were compared to the ones that she had declared to him yesterday, but he lost his ability to speak when he recognized that dazzling smile she was currently giving him.

"Whatever." _Yeah._

And that was how Mikan Sakura and Natsume Hyuuga became the best of friends.

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**The Childhood Sweetheart**

"_For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." - __Judy Garland__._

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"When are you going to propose to her?"

Natsume choked on his cola and sent dirty looks towards his blonde best friend who didn't look the least disturbed by the fact that he had asked something personal, and so bluntly at that. Looking at the scowl that was plastered on Natsume's face, Ruka coughed and nudged the crimson eyed lad. "Oh right, forgive me. Where's my manner? What I meant to say is, do you want my help in picking the right engagement ring? I mean, being your best friend since we were three and all, I sort of figured out that you don't possess any romantic bone in your body. And do you know that Mikan loves amethyst? Oh wait, that's Hotaru; Mikan likes garnet since it is her birth stone…hey, I just have the greatest idea! You should put topaz on the ring too since it's your birth stone…it would be great, I'm sure—"

"Ruka. Shut up." He gritted out.

"What? You don't like my plan? I mean, we could compromise or have Koko as our mediator—"

"That's not it." Natsume sighed, glaring at the blonde whose notion was interrupted, "Mikan is my childhood friend."

Ruka frowned. "So?"

"She is _not _my girlfriend."

There was a pause before his best friend sent him an incredulous look. "_Seriously_? Aren't you guys like buddy-buddy since that incident in fourth grade—"

"_Buddy-buddy_?"

"Right, lovey-dovey is the right word…"

Natsume seethed. "You know what? Forget it. Just…just stop spouting nonsense. Why are you so keen on our relationship anyway?"

"Because it's obvious even to the blind that the two of you cherish each other."

The jet-black haired man blanched. "…Cherish?"

Ruka shrugged. "I've been reading some romance novels for our English Literature. What? Don't look at me like that! Sooner or later, you have to read it too you know."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'd rather eat worms than to read those crap that you and Mikan read."

"Hey! Do not make fun of us…" Ruka's voice suddenly trailed off, making Natsume raised one of his brows at his friend's abrupt stop, but he knew that whatever his blonde best friend was about to say later was not going to be appealing, judging by the maniacal grin that appeared on his handsome face. "Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, she's the only girl aside from Aoi that you ever called in first name basis."

Natsume twitched.

Ruka beamed.

"…Seriously Ruka, shut up."

The blonde let out an exasperated sigh and threw his hands in the air. "But you are so…_infuriating_! Can't you guys just date each other already?"

"Mikan and I are _childhood friends_," Natsume emphasized.

"So? What? Does being childhood friends prevent you from confessing your undying love—_don't glare at me, I am aware of your feelings towards her!_"

Natsume's crimson eyes hardened and they looked at the ground, avoiding the scrutinizing gaze from the other man. "Childhood friends aren't supposed to date each other."

Ruka snorted. "Says who?"

Natsume sighed. "It's called the unwritten rule, Ruka. _Everybody_ knows it."

"Unwritten rule my ass. You're just afraid that you will get rejected."

Ruka saw how Natsume's body tensed and knew he had hit a jackpot. "Heh. I can't believe this. The most sought after guy at school, Natsume Hyuuga, had just supposedly admitted that he is afraid of being rejected?"

"I am _not_ afraid." Natsume hissed.

"Really? Well, you do have some insecurity complex—"

"I do not."

Ruka ignored his best friend's denial and continued with his riling, "—and it's not like you're the only boy in Mikan's life. She did have a thing for me back in middle school."

"_What_?"

The blue-eyed lad sent Natsume a charming grin. "You don't know about it?"

"I..._no_. She didn't like you. She _doesn't_ like you. She likes _me_." Natsume retorted somewhat childishly.

"Oh, really?" Ruka's azure eyes glinted with something that went along the line of: 'I am about to put you into my trap and I'm sure you're too jealous to notice it' before he smiled. "Then let's make a bet. Remember what's tomorrow?"

Natsume's crimson eyes turned a shade darker. "Of course."

"So let's see if Mikan remembers."

**.**

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**.**

Mikan did not know what she had done wrong, but when she met Natsume this morning and offered him her usual 'good morning', he had looked at her blankly as if he was anticipating her to say something else and waited for a minute before walking pass her without doing so much as to acknowledge her presence.

…Was he on his period or something?

The last time he was giving her the silent treatment was when they had a fight over her mother's egg rolls back in the fifth grade.

And that was like_ years_ ago.

"What's wrong with him?" She muttered as she rested her chin on her palms, her gaze never leaving her best friend's movement as he sat in his usual place with Ruka and Koko beside him.

"What? You have a fight with Natsume-kun?" A voice spoke from beside her.

"I don't know," Mikan blew her bangs with a huff, "I mean, I don't even know what we're fighting over right now. He just…ignores me."

The green-haired girl smirked. "Isn't he starting to get tired of you?"

Mikan scoffed. "You wish, Perms. Natsume isn't that kind of guy. He is sincere."

Sumire Shouda rolled her eyes and fanned herself with her hands, clicking her tongue in disapproval at the warm weather, but a figure stepped behind her friend and she had to refrain herself from shrieking because the boy—the _sinfullyhotsexy _boy that Mikan called as her childhood friend, who also happened to be the one that they were talking about earlier, had appeared all so suddenly.

_And still managed to look so, damn irresistible_. Sumire added silently in her brain and peeked a glance at Mikan. _Che, that lucky girl_.

"—Anyway, even if he's all that, it's just so frustrating, I tell you. He isn't saying anything to me so how am I supposed to know what I did wrong! I swear, sometimes his moodiness is even worse than ours when we are having our menstruation—"

"Err, Mikan."

"—What Perms? Don't interrupt me. Like I said, it's worse than our…wait, why are we talking about menstruation again? Oh right, It's because of that stupid jerk—"

"Who is currently standing right behind you."

Mikan froze.

"N-Natsume."

"Hn."

The brunette gulped when she sensed the chill on his tone, and Sumire, noticing that the aura surrounding them had gotten thick with what she would label as 'SEXUAL TENSION between two stupid idiots who can't admit their feelings' decided to slip away and went to bother Hotaru who was busy doing her Chemistry assignment.

Mikan cursed. _That. Evil. Traitor!_

But she knew better than to voice out her frustration, let alone made eye contact because at this moment, if that were to happen, she knew for a fact that she would be reduced to nothing but a stuttering mass of gooey puddle.

So after taking a deep breath, she decided to approach him carefully. She would be _subtle_.

While that was her initial plan—_a smart one_, she added mentally—she was well alert at the relentless stare Natsume was giving her, and the appearance of his infamous scowl, paired with the menacing aura that made her inner sniveled in fear, drove her to blurt, "Are you angry at me?"

_God, that is _so_ not subtle. Stupid, stupid me!_

But he stunned her when he replied, "I'm not."

She blinked owlishly. "…Really?"

"…"

Mikan folded her hands. "See? You are!"

"I'm not angry at you," he repeated. His eyes darted across her face before he released a tired sigh. "You really don't remember?"

She frowned. "Remember what?"

"That…promise."

"Huh?"

"_The_ promise."

"Of…?"

The idea of banging his head to the wall sounded appealing at the time. "You…Forget about what I just said. Let's skip class."

"_What_?"

"Stop being annoying and just follow me."

"Oh gee Mr. Smarty Pants; I'm not the one what had just invited my best friend to ditch class!"

"First period is Jinno, you know."

"…Let's go."

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"Natsume. I. Hate. You."

The lad snorted. "No you don't."

"Yes I do!"

"Oh, and why do you?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Just because!"

Natsume tsked. "Do you even know why I brought you here?"

"Of course I do. You want to dig the time capsule. Which is why I'm mad at you!"

He looked at her like she had grown two heads. "…_You know_?"

Mikan thought that Natsume had some nerve to act like he was shocked by her answer. "Urgh, why do you think_ I_ would forget? And what's with you today? You suddenly started ignoring me like I'm some kind of pest, and then you decided to let out your electri_frying_ aura to shoo Permy off, and you still have the gall to think I would forget such an important day! Ha! You better start apologizing right now or you won't even be alive to mutter out stupid, monosyllabic phrases about promises…"

She paused.

Realization seemed to dawn on her face when she found Natsume staring at her. A sheepish laugh escaped her lips, and she rubbed the back of her neck with embarrassment when she understood the meaning of the look that he was sending her. "So the promise you were muttering earlier is about the time capsule?"

He stared.

"Oooh, so you thought I forget about the time capsule thingy! That's why you were so _pissy_ towards me this morning! And here I was wondering what kind of promises you were talking about. You should spit it out directly you know, instead of beating around the bush."

He twitched.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Mikan grinned.

"Just start digging," he hissed.

"Geez, there's no need to get impatient. And do you know why I'm mad at you? We're supposed to open the time capsule at approximately six forty-five this evening. Hotaru told me that you could get jinxed if the time capsule isn't opened at the exact time it was buried! What if…what if we turn into frogs and have to find our respective prince and or princesses to save our butts…but hey, that's not too bad, actually…a prince sounds awesome to me—"

"Stop babbling your weird obsession and start digging."

Mikan stuck her tongue out. "_You_ are the guy. _You_ do the digging."

"I thought you hate sexism."

She grinned and gave him a thumb up. "I find it helpful in situations like these."

After some digging done by Natsume and loud cheering on Mikan's behalf—_Natsume you can do it, go, go, go! Natsume can do it, gooooo…..Natsume-eeew, don't threw the worms at me! Okay, okay, I'm shutting up now!_—they finally managed to pull out the old treasure box from the ground. Mikan crouched near the box and eyed it cautiously as she poked her finger at the surface, her heart thumping in excitement as they were finally going to fulfill the promise they had made five years ago. She couldn't believe it was the same beautiful box they got from Natsume's uncle, because now, laid in front of them was a dusty, discolored box but she couldn't care a thing because it was filled with nothing but lots of wonderful memories.

"Want to open it?" Natsume sounded as breathless as she was.

"Yeah," she agreed.

The sights that greeted them when they first opened the box were a collection of a worn-out teddy bear, car toys, and ragged papers slipped in between.

"Aww, I miss you so much, Mikan Junior!"

"…I can't believe I used to like Lightning Mc Queen so much."

Mikan looked at the sick expression on Natsume's face and burst out laughing. "I know. You were so silly."

"So were you…not that you've matured. You're practically the same as you were five years ago."

"Hey!" She punched him on the shoulder half-heartedly. "I've learned lots of things. I'm smarter now."

"Smarter than a chicken," Natsume muttered.

Mikan sent him a look. "We both know that I'm the second in class. You are the third. _I_ beat _you_."

"You're just lucky that I don't study."

"I know," she laughed, "And you will never start trying to do that too. So I'm all good!"

Natsume didn't comment on it, but from the huff of amusement that he gave, he was enjoying this short reminiscence as well as she did. The brunette continued to coo and make ridiculous faces at her old teddy bear—Mikan Jr—and wasn't aware that Natsume had just taken the old paper which was Mikan's message five years ago from the box.

"Dear myself, five years in the future…"

Natsume's statement made Mikan choked on her spit and flashed her eyes at him, dreading that he would be doing what she thought he was doing, before she let out a squeal of embarrassment when indeed, Natsume Hyuuga had just gotten in possession of her old paper-slash-message.

"Natsume! Give it back to me! Right. _Now_!"

"No can do. Hello myself five years in the future, I hope by then you have finally gathered the courage to confess your love to—"

"Don't say it! Don't say it! Don't say it—"

"Natsume Hyuuga—"

"Oh My God, he said it!"

"And I hope, again, that Natsume would be cured of his _meanie-jerk syndrome_—"

"I was a _very_ creative child!"

"And realize that we belong to each other—"

"…Did I really write that?"

"But my dearest wish is—"

"Eeeeeep!"

"For Natsume to accept my feelings and be his wife."

Mikan felt like she was at the edge of a cliff when Natsume finished reading her message (stupid, evil message!), and she saw no way out of this predicament that she was trapped in. Her mortification reached its maximum level, and she couldn't even express what she was feeling right now; maybe a mix of shame, humiliation, and relief, and anticipation, and… and sadness when she was once again made aware of how Natsume could easily reject her feelings.

It would ease her trepidation if Natsume were to do something other than to stare at her, for God's sake, she could feel his imploring gaze boring through her very pores. Maybe he thought she was crazy. It was risky, after all. This could very well ruin their friendship, but she wasn't about to balk away from this. The least she could do was to stay true to her feelings and tell Natsume the truth.

But before she could say a thing, Natsume beat her to it.

"Do you like me?"

She hesitated for a while before answering, "I do."

"Why?" His voice sounded hoarse.

"Because…Natsume, _don't _ask me why. I don't even know _why_ I like you. You're evil, and irritating, and conceited, and mean, and evil, and mean, and you're a big, fat jerk!"

At the glare he was giving her, she sniffed. "What? It's the truth. You _cut _my hair when we were in the fourth grade. You call me an idiot, and I've lost count on how many times you've made fun of my pigtails.

"But I guess, I like you because you're…you," her voice softened, "You always help with my homework if I can't do it by myself, and you always accompany me to Ginza whenever I want to buy the delicious rice cake that my father likes, even if you keep on telling me that you have some business there. You're kind. Do you even realize that? Do you remember that time when I wore high heels for the first time to Permy's birthday party and got blisters later on? Even if I was half sober, I knew that it was you who piggy-ride me back to my house and bought that cute Lion King band aids! And you! How dare you! You actually danced with me in the rain that one time!"

"…Aren't you supposed to be happy? Why are you angry?"

"Because…because I like you so much and I know that I like you more than you liking me as your friend, and I'll end up miserable because by the end of today I'll probably realize that I actually love you! Did you hear me, you jerk? I fell in love with you! How much more cliché can it get? I mean, of all people, it has to be you! And you already looked at my panty once, so I have to get married to you, but you don't like me so you won't marry me and I'll end up living the rest of my life all grey and alone and then I'll die!"

Natsume sighed. "Your wailing is really annoying. I don't even know how I could end up befriending a dense person like you."

"Excuse me? What did you just said _mmph_—"

He kissed her.

He kissed her the way her innocent mind could have never imagined, because this was the seventeen-year old Natsume, and the last time she ever dreamed of him kissing her was when they were in the sixth grade. This Natsume had been in contact with his long-dormant hormones, had his fair share of certain urges, and it was not just a matter of lips meeting with lips.

Kissing Natsume was more of a gentle nip, pleasurable sighs, and light scraping of the teeth that sent her stomach fluttering and heart pumping madly. Kissing Natsume was like standing between the thin line of reality, of the tangible pain when he bit her lips, and the surreal emotions that jumbled her sanity when he licked and groaned and _breathed_. Kissing him was taking short peeks of his longing through her lashes, of pressing her hands across his chest and felt the fast beating of his heart under her palms.

Kissing Natsume was when she realized that he loved her too.

"I love you…" She muttered when they broke apart. "I love you, I love you, I _love_ you—"

And he kissed her again—this time harder and with more fervor; lips warm against each other, and she have to circle her arms on his neck when her feet started to wobble under his assault. He growled when she whimpered at the heat of his breath across her neck, and she tugged his hair to pull him closer so she could kiss him again.

"You really should stop doing that," he croaked, face unexpectedly flushed, "Don't make me kiss you all the time."

"Why?"

"I love you. I love you probably more than you do."

She trembled under his fleeting touch on her cheeks before letting out a wobbly laugh. "What? Now we're fighting over whose love is deeper? This is way better than Pride and Prejudice. And I love Pride and Prejudice."

He snorted. "Childhood friends falling for each other? I can't say it's better."

"But we broke the unwritten rule, didn't we? Childhood friends aren't supposed to date each other."

Natsume shook his head. "No, quite on the contrary, we stay true to the rule."

"What? So we're _not_ dating each other?"

"No," he smirked, but he noticed the look on her face and continued, "Now before you make any assumption, take a look at my message."

"Your time capsule message?"

Natsume nodded.

Mikan looked at him in confusion before she reached out and took the folded papers. Her fingers quivered slightly from anticipation, and her breath was caught in her throat when she saw Natsume's neat hand writing from five years ago.

**.**

**.**

_Will you marry me?_

_**.**_

_**.**_

"I…You wrote this?"

"No, an alien did. Of course it's me, stupid girl."

When Mikan's eyes started to water, a look of alarm appeared on his face. "Hey, are you alright? Dammit, don't cry. It's not even cheesy."

She laughed while wiping the tears from her face. "You were_ so_ cocky even as a child, Natsume. Where would you put your face if I were to reject your proposal?"

His eyes darkened in appreciation at the implied meaning. "_If_ you were? Does that mean you accept?"

Mikan smiled slyly. "What do you think?"

He smirked and whispered beside her ear, "I think Mikan Hyuuga is a wonderful name."

"Oh? And where's the engagement ring?"

Natsume raised one of his brows. "I don't peg you as a material girl. Guess I was wrong."

She made a face at him. "Stop teasing me."

"Right," he chuckled in response before he pulled something out of his pocket and took her hands in his.

"Uh, what are you doing with a marker, Natsume?"

"Just be silent."

"What? No way! The last time I stayed silent I got myself an unwanted hair cut."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm giving you your engagement ring."

"_What_."

Natsume didn't bother to retaliate as he grabbed her left hand and plucked the lid from the marker. Mikan felt the cool sensation of ink being pressed on her skin, and her eyes widened in comprehension at what he was doing. Although the line that he drew on her ring finger was a bit crooked, and the word "TAKEN" scribbled above the line was unnecessary, she was thrilled at the fact because it just gave her the feeling that it was so like Natsume to do it.

"You seriously drew a ring as our engagement ring?"

He smirked. "I killed two birds with one stone."

"How so?"

"You won't end up growing old alone, it was economically beneficial for me, and we managed to create a new unwritten rule for childhood friends. So actually, I just killed _three_ birds with one stone."

"_Really_."

"Yeah."

"And what's that?"

"Unwritten rule number two," he muttered before leaning in to catch her in another kiss, "Childhood friends _don't_ date each other. They get _married_."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Ruka, give me my five thousand yen."

"…About time. I'm getting tired of waiting."

"Five. Thousand. Yen."

"…Dammit, Natsume, you're evil."

A pause. "Mikan said the same thing when I took her from behind."

Ruka choked.

**.**

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**A/N:** Don't you just _love_ Pride and Prejudice? *wink*

Merry Christmas! Like always, constructive criticisms are welcomed, and reviews regarding your opinion would be lovely.:)

Sincerely yours,

_The Lonely Serenade._


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